Reincarnated As An Extra With The 10x Link System-Chapter 46: Megumi Akira Fujiboma
Chapter 46
Megumi blinked a few times, staring at the runes that shimmered before him. He felt too tired to even try to mentally access the strange situation; everything was happening too fast. And more than that, he felt... strangely... a bit different, a rather out-of-touch sensation.
He didn’t know what it was that was different, or if it was just him going crazy after finally taking out the demon. But more than that, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lie back on the dry field of grass and close his eyes.
And that was precisely what he did...
Without giving it much thought, he dismissed the runes, already knowing what messages his system would bring him since killing the demon. Some dark essence and nothing more... It was even starting to bore him at this point.
Leaning against one of the dead trees, he opened his eyes a few minutes later, glancing around the grove; his gaze momentarily fell on his comrades, who were just as exhausted as he was and were off to the sides resting as well.
Their innate energy was slowly restoring itself, revitalizing their bodies in the process, and for him, it was considerably faster, which was why, while they were still leaning back on the field of the grove, he was already getting back on his feet.
Night was upon them, and the world was washed in the graceful glow of moonlight, countless twinkling diamonds—stars splattered across the vast expanse of the dark sky.
He heaved a sigh and walked over to Rei, who was currently getting back on his feet as well, his entire body drenched in the blood of the slain demon. There was an intense rage lingering in the boy’s eyes as he gazed at the demon’s dead body.
After a while, though, he let out a loud gasp and chuckled slightly.
"Whew! Thank gods! We finally did it... We passed the first test."
Megumi, meanwhile, simply gazed at the boy for a while and then turned his gaze to the girls who were just a dozen meters away from them. Though clearly awake and having recovered a bit of their strength, they both remained on the floor.
It was not his intention to bother them, though, and he simply remained where he was as he waited. Since they had slain the demon—just as Rei said—they had passed the first test, and any time from now, someone would be coming to take them back to the castle.
And now, left with nothing to do, he couldn’t help but wonder how Yuki was doing. She had most likely finished up with the demon in her respective sector, along with her teammates, and if so, how long had it taken her?
’Probably not as long as we took.’
While he was in thought, he was suddenly shrouded in a veil of blinding light and, instantly, vanished, reappearing within the walls of the castle’s keep once again. The first thing he felt was his feet against the white stone floor, and then his gaze trailed upward, landing on the raised platform built at the very end of the keep.
There were many other children in the keep along with him, their clothes torn and smeared with blood, a few of them having scars on their bodies. They had most likely sustained mortal injuries during their battle, and the scars were what remained after they were healed.
But what was most apparent to him was the fact that they were far less than they had been at the start of the demon hunt. There had been about fifty or so of them, but now he couldn’t count more than thirty that remained. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
He knew they wouldn’t be returning anytime soon; they had failed their inaugural demon hunt and wouldn’t be continuing the test, or rather event, with them. The demon hunt was a program meant to seek the Boma clan’s most elite prospects and weed out those who couldn’t meet the desired standards.
All that was left for today was a speech from the Adept Sorcerer Hakuro, and they would be allowed to leave, get some rest ahead of a new day, and continue the test early the next morning. It could go on for an entire week, or sometimes weeks.
It wasn’t long before Hakuro arrived once again, taking his time to congratulate those who had passed the test with a few words of praise while briefly going over the rules of the first demon hunt once again. But that wasn’t all he had to say.
After a brief pause, he cleared his throat and looked over at the group of children gathered.
"In addition, each of you will be allocated personal spaces in the spirit castle for the duration of your stay, which shall conclude upon the conclusion of your hunt. All necessary provisions and amenities will be duly provided, and I trust that you will find our hospitality to be satisfactory."
There was nothing but utter silence after he was done talking, and thereafter, he descended the platform and slowly passed through the group of children to exit the keep. A few seconds after he left, a group of people—middle-aged men and women—entered the keep, all dressed in all-black attire.
He recognized their uniforms immediately, simple and fitting as they were. It was the same uniform the maids and servants back at the mansion wore... so these people would most likely be the ones providing them with the necessary service for their stay.
The servants quickly got to work, tending to what remained of the children who had arrived in the keep earlier, while Megumi stood at the edge of the room observing everything without a particular expression on his face.
He could see Yuki off to the side, speaking to one of the servants that had just arrived in the keep. Strangely, though, unlike most of the children, or even compared to him, there were only minor bruises on her body. There wasn’t even a single stain of blood on her clothes.
He was a little crestfallen by the fact that he wouldn’t be able to talk to the girl as well, and not anytime soon... at least not until they were finally out of this cursed castle. Ever since coming here, he had purposefully kept to himself despite knowing what the hunt entailed.
But even if emerging successfully at the end of the demon hunt meant he had to make allies, then he would rather go about it carefully, or he would risk some secrets of his being revealed. This world had people who could magically tell another’s soul rank... or their achieved level of evolution, rather... with a single gaze, a few who could read minds, some who could even control them, and worst of all, those who could bend fate to their will.
Given the nature of his birth and how his constitution had been, many people who met him when he was still a baby probably had questions after he somehow awakened and even acquired a flame ability, one of divine rank, no less. And another thing he had come to realize after studying his peers for a while was that he was a great way ahead of them.
Of course, none of the children knew about his supposed lack in the external department; in fact, they admired the remarkable heir of the Fujiboma branch of the Boma Clan. So making a few friends would be just as difficult as it would be easy for him; even his teammates had chosen to remain formal even in the heat of the battle against the demon, and now, none of them even bothered to look his way after the battle was over.
Not that he was very bothered about them either. In any case, the fate of the hunt would unite them once again against a far greater threat. But they wouldn’t be the only ones facing it, hopefully. That was precisely why he needed allies, not just Yuki.
Scanning for potential allies... that was what he had been doing since he observed the group of children standing around in the keep. He had a few in mind, all hailing from prominent families and clans under the Boma Clan. Most likely, after he was done settling into his new living space, he would try tackling this grave problem.
*******
Soon after being led through the interior of the grand castle and taking a bath in the castle’s bathhouse, he was left sitting on a large bed in the room that he had been allocated. It was spacious, the walls and floor just as white as every other part of the castle, with only a few necessities kept for him: some clothes in a fairly large closet, a small table and chair to the side—which he had asked for personally—and a closet that had a few books inside it.
There were some dragon engravings on the walls, and some parts of the room’s floor were placed together with flair to form breathtaking mosaics. But he wasn’t focusing on any of it as he sat, legs crossed, on his bed, meditating.
After a while, a smile curled up on his face. A moment he had prayed for his entire new life presented itself as a set of familiar runes shimmered before him.
[Name: Megumi Akira Fujiboma]
’Wait... what? Did... did the system just... isn’t that my middle name?’
[... Race: Unknown]
’Oh, come on!’
